80.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesHealth Beat: Carol Beckowitz

Health Beat: Carol Beckowitz

Carol BeckowitzAn on-the-job foot injury put an end to Carol Beckowitz’s career as an emergency medical technician, but she’s keeping her hand in as the president of the St. John Emergency Medical Service Association.

The organization got its start in 2001 as a way to channel donations to Emergency Medical Services to St. John instead of going into the St. Thomas/St. John pot. The donations come mainly from people pleased with their service by the EMTs.

“St. John didn’t always get the benefit,” Beckowitz said.

The EMS Association moved into gear when someone donated a boat they hoped could be used as an ambulance boat. It wasn’t suitable, but the EMS Association sold it and used the proceeds to support EMS activities. Beckowitz said getting the ambulance boat repaired through normal government channels was time consuming. The organization was instrumental in keeping the old Star of Life ambulance boat afloat.

“We kept it limping along,” Beckowitz said, adding that the organization spent about $20,000 on repairs for the Star of Life until the new Liston “Huntie” Sprauve ambulance boat went into service in 2011.

The group also funded $3,500 worth of dock upgrades, supplies and maintenance for the new ambulance boat.

Beckowitz said while the EMS Association may be phased out if the proposed merger between the Fire Service and EMS comes to fruition, it has accomplished a lot.

In 2005 it held the first basic EMT class on St. John, which trained 14 new EMTS. She said four of them are now with the Fire Service. It ran three trauma and life support classes, which enable St. John-based EMTS to get their certificates. Beckowitz said the organization also funded to the tune of $23,000 off-island training and conference attendance for St. John-based EMTs.

The organization funded $17,000 for EMT equipment and supplies for the ambulances and ambulance boat, Beckowitz added.

Additionally, Beckowitz said the organization pushed for collaboration among EMS, the Fire Service and the V.I. National Park, a partnership that continues today. It reached out into the community to sponsor first aid training and run basic health screenings that tested for things such as blood pressure and diabetes.

When the EMS Association formed, most of the EMTs lived on St. John, but the number has dwindled to just one, with two who hail from St. Thomas based regularly at the Morris deCastro Clinic in Cruz Bay. Beckowitz said other EMTs are assigned on a rotating basis from St. Thomas to St. John.

Beckowitz became an EMT when she saw an advertisement in the newspaper. She was living on St. Croix, where she arrived shortly after Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989 with a volunteer group to assist with recovery.

“I didn’t realize it was going to be a life-changing experience,” she said.

Born in Cleveland, she grew up in nearby Medina, Ohio. She was studying to be a physician’s assistant when she left for St. Croix. Since there was no physician’s assistant program in the Virgin Islands, she said the EMT program seemed like the best thing.

After a couple of years as a St. Croix EMT, an opportunity opened on St. John. She grabbed it, and she’s been on St. John ever since.

However, Beckowitz has expanded her horizons back to Ohio with the operation of an alpaca farm. While on a trip to Ohio, she entered a raffle thinking she’d win an alpaca sweater or similar.

“I won two live, furry alpacas,” she said, laughing.

She said she has no idea how the alpaca farm she runs with a partner will pan out, but she’s happy to raise them for breeding and the fiber used in making those sweaters.

Beckowitz is busy with many other endeavors. After a foray into working at the Legislature, she now serves as a liaison for a Puerto Rico telecommunications company, serves on the board of the St. John Film Society, keeps up with photography, plots her garden at the Agriculture Department community garden in Coral Bay, dabbles at fixing up her dinghy, and writes for a local magazine.

“And I want to continue to stay active in local politics and community service,” she said.

When she gets some spare time, she’s off to the states to visit daughter, Julie Nave, 38, who is studying at the University of Akron in Ohio, and son James Aaron Keller, 37, who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“I love to travel,” she said.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.